Health insurance reform derailed by misinformation, says Obama

Misleading information about health insurance reform has become so rampant that President Obama says opponents are becoming fierce, derailing what he calls our best chance of ensuring affordable health insurance for everyone. Town Hall meetings that include “staged” protests are being held, and orchestrated by Republicans, and backed by private interest groups, say Obama aides. Misinformation about health insurance reform has become rampant.

Making health insurance accessible for all Americans has caused such heated debate, Obama says, "Some have been using misleading information to defeat what they know is the best chance of reform we have ever had."

Advertisement

Examples of misinformation about health insurance reforms include rumors that end of life care is a “sinister” plot to kill elderly people. Obama said in his Saturday address, "Let me explain what reform will mean for you. And let me start by dispelling the outlandish rumors that reform will promote euthanasia, cut Medicaid or bring about a government takeover of health care. That's simply not true."

Obama says health insurance reform is vital to the US economy, but critics say the timing suggests otherwise. The price of making insurance affordable for 46 million uninsured Americans is 1 trillion dollars – a cost that critics say the current economy cannot withstand. Suggestions that could pay for health insurance include taxing junk food and alcohol.

Republicans say health insurance reform will do nothing but drive up costs, and hurt the economy. For years, we have been concerned about healthcare costs. The health insurance industry has failed to deliver affordable health care. Pre-existing health conditions often make it impossible for individuals to find affordable health insurance. The result of not having health care coverage has resulted in financial ruin and bankruptcy. According to the National Coalition on Healthcare, “about 1.5 million families lose their homes to foreclosure every year due to unaffordable medical costs”.

The debate rages about health insurance reform, but President Obama is determined to make health insurance affordable for all Americans by the end of this year. Obama plans to hold his own town hall meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire next week. In the meantime, the health of Americans will continue to suffer if we fail to find a means to make health insurance affordable.

Comments

The runaway premium similar to the peak fuel price last year and left so many folks in despair insists on staying the course with the attitude 'unchanged', clearly this trend could bankrupt individual, business, and government. Now the government subsequently is tasked with these two main assignments, first, to address premium inflation, second, to expand coverage to all in urgent need.
In order to cover all and not to add to the deficit, the public option can not set the same rates of private market, rather, it needs to have the function to keep it in check in terms of inflation, too. Unfortunately, this 'unavoidable' direction is aggressively being accused by the runaway premium, citing government 'take-over' .
Under the circumstances the energy bill to determine human future and the other major issues is presently piled up, who wants to waste time making enemies ?, which also does not benefit the forthcoming election.
On the other hand, to make things worse, critics say the savings from the proposed public option is not enough to meet the revenue goal. Furthermore, on another hand, some say 'hands off' . Where do these No tax, No saving and the like intend to force this reform to go ? The conclusion by 'just-say-no' is no doubt. Ironically, the Deficit-sensitive groups have a distinctive common ground, they all have a Deficit-driven background out of question.
Of all choices, the best thing would be savings through efficiency. Considering the wasteful structure, the highest premium in the world, and the most expensive part of medicare, with the prevention / wellness program in place, an American style innovation, an 'outcome'-based payment founded upon IT system may be enough to save more than 50 billions per year (500 / decade), both 'improving quality' and removing the unnecessary procedures (as pay is dependent on patient's outcome). Young folks and advocates need to explain the notion of a pay for outcome agreement to the elderly misled by the disinformation.
Unlike private market, this public option includes large-scale investments, these large investments still does not get the fair score, instead seem to become a source of acute conflict, even so, this common sense-based program needs to develop further as early detection goes beyond monetary value.
In short, with the heartbreaking tears in mind, private market also needs change and should join together to complete this reform , as promised, if not, the runaway premium only has itself to blame. Job-based coverage (indirect payment), mandate code, and ample capital might be favorable to the private market. And It can be said that fair competition starts with fair market value.
Over time, supposedly, the public plan will concentrate more on basic, primary cares, and the private insurers will provide their clients with differentiated services.
Thank You !

An eye opening survey recently found retirees are more prone to spend time finding the best deal for buying groceries than they do choosing health insurance. Shopping for insurance, for some, is worse than you might imagine according to a representative sampling survey of Medicare recipients.

The Report to Congress on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Graduate Nurse Education Demonstration has just been released documenting health care workforce gains addressing the nation’s shortage of primary care.

If you live in the United States you must understand our current medical system and I do not mean the Affordable Care Act, but simply how Big Pharma works and why Americans are angry and why we should all be fighting for healthcare reform.

We hear a lot about pre-existing medical conditions that are covered or not covered by health insurance plans, but what are those? I had a wow moment when I saw this list of pre-existing medical conditions that I had no idea were considered pre-exsiting.

The U.S. House of Representatives today voted 217–213 to pass the American Health Care Act (AHCA). The bill repeals and replaces the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, which has been in effect since 2010. What are some of the benefits of repealing Obamacare? Heartland Institute experts discuss how this bill benefits nation's spending and free market.

Heartland Institute Experts React to GOP Obamacare Reform Bill sharing advice on repealing and replacing Obamacare saying the Republican health insurance plan is a start toward a better way. The following is released by the Heartland Institute.